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They’re back! The once single ladies of Sex and the City return to the big screen in the sequel no one, except those who couldn’t let the show go, demanded.
I was a big fan of Sex & the City when it was the smart, funny, taboo busting TV show. It had heart and managed to make Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Samantha (Kim Catrall) feel like real life long friends. I thought the series finale was a great send-off to the characters, and leaving Carrie single, but attached helped drive home the message that you didn’t need to be married to be happy.
Then along came Sex & the City: The Movie. And while it wasn’t necessary it was entertaining, even if it did undermine the whole you don’t need to be married to be happy vibe of the TV series.
This brings us to Sex & the City 2 – and where do you go after everyone got their happy endings in the first installment? Apparently writer director Michael Patrick King wasn’t sure so he sent the girls on a ‘fabulous’, ‘decadent’, ‘all expenses paid’ trip to the United Arab Emirates, complete with some cringe worthy culture clash.
Having spent 10 years trying to get Big (Chris Noth) to marry her Carrie has suddenly decided marriage might not be for her, and when Big come sup with a solution she freaks out and takes off with her ‘girls’ on a holiday. What better place to run into former flame Aiden, the nice guy to Big’s bad boy. The big question is will she cheat on Big? The film wraps all this up in about 20 minutes, leaving the rest of the over 2 hour running time to be a bloated mess.
With Carrie’s storyline so light on the ground you would think this would give the other 3 girls time to shine. Think again. Charlotte is left to freak out that she is a bad mother (at least she doesn’t shit her pants this time), while Miranda hits a glass ceiling at work. Both women share a great scene together talking through their problems, but like the rest of the film it remains a little underdone.
And then there is Samantha. Samantha is trying to stave off menopause with any drug she can get her hands on. But when her drugs are confiscated upon entering the United Emirates she goes into meltdown, turning into a horny sitcom character version of herself. Samantha has always been larger than life, but here she is way too far over the top.
It might sound like I didn’t enjoy SATC 2 but I did. It was funny in places, and the established bond with the characters goes a long way in bypassing the flaws of the script. I wasn’t offended as a lot of people seem to be by the whole Muslim women modesty thing – but the last 10 minutes the girls spend in Abu Dhabi was some of the most ludicrous film making in a long time – like something straight out of a Carry On movie.
Whilst SATC 1 had an upbeat positive ending SATC 2 is far more subdued which gives the feeling that a 3rd film is all but inevitable (and Carrie will probably have a baby!). Hopefully they won’t feel the need to take off to an exotic local, and actually feature the city in the title. And please, for the love of god cut down the running time!
3 of 5 Stars
P.S. The 'I Am Woman' karaoke performance was way worse then the 2, count 'em 2, fashion montages in the first film
was Carrie really sending the 'you don't have to be married to be happy' message - cause it always seems to me that this was exactly what she wanted, she chased 'Big' long enough. Thou dost protest too much .
ReplyDeleteSpot on, Brett. Exactly how I felt. It certainly wasn't as bad as some critics made out, and I was hardpressed to see what was so racist about it, but the movie was just basically unnecessary. Where was the story? Entertaining enough though, got a few laughs. I really liked that scene between Miranda and Charlotte as well ... they could have done a lot more with that storyline.
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